1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cable connecting box suited for accommodating and protecting the connecting portion of optical cables or the like especially in a narrow space such as a hand hole.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A well-known cable connecting box is constructed, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, such that a casing 20 is composed of an outer cylinder 21 assembled by connecting two sleeve halves with bolts, and two end plates 22 closing the two ends of the outer cylinder 21. The core connecting portion J of cables A are linearly connected in the water-tight casing 20.
One disadvantage of this cable connecting box is that if the aforementioned linear cable connecting portion is mounted in a narrow space, such as a hand hole, it is incapable of allowing its branch cable to be led out in a free direction. This is because it is difficult to maintain the curvature of a branch cable A' more than its allowable radius of curvature, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 7.
Moreover, since the linear cable connecting portion has no excess length to be led out from the mounting space, it is difficult to accomplish the connection in such narrow space. Also, if a branch cable is added in the future, the end plates cannot be disassembled without serious difficulty.